Eight HVACR and water heating industry associations have announced the formation of the HVACR Workforce Development Foundation. The Foundation will work to raise awareness of the industry, attract new members to the workforce, and enhance the quality of the available workforce in the industry.
According to HVAC Excellence, 65.6 percent of service technicians in the HVACR industry will not be in the industry in eight years. The next generation is now in the classroom learning skills to match the demands of the market, and there is a growing sense of the need to recruit those who will serve as the technicians of the future.
These remarks include a comment on Joanna Turpin’s article “Going Against the $29 Tune-Up,” from the April 2, 2012 issue, and a comment on how to motivate more young people to go into HVACR.
Despite what all the naysayers claim about the up-and-coming generation of young people, I still find good people with solid character. And it is up to us as the owners and managers in the HVAC industry to train and mentor them to join and stay in our industry.
HVAC is not a sexy career. To be fair, most careers aren’t that sexy either, but somehow it seems easier to sell the idea of rocket scientist than HVAC technician. The question is: How does an industry make itself more attractive?
